(This is the first post in a series I will be doing as I study and write my way through the book of Romans. For more background on the what’s and why’s, see this post.)
1 Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, 5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you 10 always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— 12 that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine. 13 I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles. 14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish. 15 So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:1-17
For Paul writing to the church at Rome, which he had never been to, you can see that he lays out his purpose for not only this letter, but his expected visit to Rome and indeed his whole ministry. In the first 6 verses of the book he lays out several key points:
- Jesus himself called Paul to be an apostle (Acts 9:1-18)
- Paul is a bought and paid for slave of Jesus Christ (more below)
- Jesus is the Messiah, fulfilling the OT prophecies necessary to back up the claim
- The declaration of Jesus’ Son-ship and deity is grounded in his resurrection
- Affirmation of the Great Commission
This is a very compact summation of Paul’s work and the gospel. Many of these points are well known, so I will not belabor them, but I want to call special attention to point #2. Paul uses the Greek word doulos, which here is translated servant. I am no expert in Greek, but R.C. Sproul makes a great point in his commentary on Romans (seriously, buy this now. It’s a great work) when he says this word should probably be translated as ‘slave’ instead of ‘servant’. The implication here is not only the obvious point of his (and our) obligation to Christ, but also the reality that we have been bought and paid for via Jesus’ death and resurrection. He owns us in this sense. Additionally, “Paul wore this title gladly (Gal. 1:10; Titus 1:1), reveling in the Old Testament picture of a slave who in love binds himself to his master for life (Ex. 21:2-6)” (Walvoord). The Exodus reference is really good to make Paul’s sentiment clear (emphasis mine):
2 When you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve six years, and in the seventh he shall go out free, for nothing. 3 If he comes in single, he shall go out single; if he comes in married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out alone. 5
But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’
6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.Exodus 21:2-6
Slavery has such a stigma in America (rightfully so given our history) that it can be hard to see this point, but I do think it really illustrates how Paul sees his service to the Lord. The reminder to us as Christians that Jesus has a commanding power over us is important to remember. His commands and teachings are not optional, they are the very essence of following him.
Just one quick word on verse 7, the Greek word used for ‘called’ is kletos which is always used in the NT in relation to God compelling us to him, in service or for salvation. To me, this usage reinforces the role of God’s sovereignty in our salvation.
Rome was the center of the world at that time, so it makes sense that in Paul’s words, “your faith is proclaimed in all the world” in verse 8. For Paul to visit Rome was certainly a deep desire that we clearly see in verses 11-15. What is interesting to me is that Paul wants to not only minister to the church in Rome, but anticipates that the visit will be just as beneficial for him as well. It seems to me that this balanced view of community is something we need to be more aware of in our context. Being in a church is not just about getting, it’s about giving too. In all aspects we should be giving to the church body. I know this is one that is tough for me sometimes, so I bet it is for some others as well.
Now, the last two verses, which may be some of the most well-known in this book:
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
Romans 1:16-17
Augustine says that the righteousness spoken of here is not God’s, but the righteousness he provides for us (Sproul). This rings true to me from my reading of the letter, and the text here. After all, if we are justified in Christ’s death and resurrection our righteousness spring from God himself, as our human nature will not allow righteousness to come from ourselves. Paul’s statement is clear here, this righteousness from God comes to us through our faith. This is essentially the theme and thrust of the following theological discourses throughout this epistle, we are saved by our faith.
Paul is very intentional about his greeting to the Roman Christians. The clear affirmations of the gospel, his apostleship, desire for fellowship, and finally the clear articulation of the source of our salvation very effectively sets the stage for the rest of the book.
UPDATE: For a summary of the Reformed (and other Christian traditions’) view of justification, go here.
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Sproul, R.C. St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books.
Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Tags: Paul, Romans, Scripture, scripture-series
